Gretchen Wilson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gretchen Wilson
Wilson in April 2010
Background information
Birth name	Gretchen Frances Wilson
Born	(1973-06-26) June 26, 1973 (age 51) Pocahontas, Illinois, U.S.
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country country rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Epic Nashville, Columbia Nashville, Redneck

Gretchen Frances Wilson was born on June 26, 1973, in Pocahontas, Illinois. She is an American country music singer and songwriter. She became famous in March 2004 with her song "Redneck Woman". This song won a Grammy Award and was a number-one hit on the Billboard country music charts.

"Redneck Woman" was the first song from her first album, Here for the Party. A year later, she released her second album, All Jacked Up. The main song from this album set a record in 2005. It was the highest-starting song for a female country artist. Her third album, One of the Boys, came out in 2007.

Gretchen Wilson has had 13 songs on the Billboard country charts. Five of these songs reached the top ten. "Redneck Woman" was number one. Other top hits include "Here for the Party" (number 3 in 2004), "When I Think About Cheatin'" (number 4 in 2004), "Homewrecker" (number 2 in 2005), and "All Jacked Up" (number 8 in 2005). Her album Here for the Party sold over five million copies. This earned it a "5× multi-platinum" award. Her album All Jacked Up sold over one million copies, earning a "platinum" award. She has sold more than 8.2 million records around the world.

Gretchen Wilson's Music Journey

Starting with Here for the Party

Wilson performing in a concert

Gretchen Wilson signed with Epic Records in 2003. She recorded her first album, Here for the Party, that same year. Her first song, "Redneck Woman", came out in early 2004. It quickly became number one on the Hot Country Songs charts. It also reached number 22 on the wider Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song was the first number one country hit by a female artist in two years.

Because "Redneck Woman" was so popular, Here for the Party was released earlier than planned. It debuted at number one on the Billboard country chart. It also reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. Gretchen Wilson performed as a supporting artist for famous groups like Brooks & Dunn and Montgomery Gentry.

She then released the song "Here for the Party" as her second single. It reached number three on the Billboard country chart. Two more songs from the album also made it into the top 10. The album Here for the Party was a huge success. It was certified 5× multi-platinum, meaning it sold over five million copies.

Success with All Jacked Up

On September 27, 2005, Gretchen Wilson released her second album, All Jacked Up. This album reached number one on both the Top 200 and Country album charts. It sold one million copies. The main song from the album, "All Jacked Up", started at number 21 on the Hot Country Songs charts. This was a record for the highest starting position ever for a song by a female artist.

Later, in 2007, Carrie Underwood's song "So Small" broke this record. Even though "All Jacked Up" started high, it peaked at number eight on the Hot Country Songs chart. The sports channel ESPN also used this song as the opening theme for its baseball coverage for a time. Three more songs were released from All Jacked Up. These were "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today", "Politically Uncorrect" (a song with Merle Haggard), and "California Girls". None of these reached the top 20 on the country charts.

Gretchen Wilson's song "I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today" was nominated for two Grammy Awards. These were for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. In 2006, Wilson sang a well-liked cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down". This was for a special CD honoring Kris Kristofferson.

New Music: One of the Boys and I Got Your Country Right Here

On May 15, 2007, Wilson released her third album, One of the Boys. This album started at number five on the Top 200 chart and number one on the Country album chart. The first two songs released from it, "Come to Bed" (with John Rich) and the album's title track, reached the top 30s on the country charts.

On July 14, 2008, Wilson released a new song called "Don't Do Me No Good". This song was meant to be the first song from her fourth album. However, it did not reach the top 40, and the album was delayed. She released two more songs in 2009, "The Earrings Song" and "If I Could Do It All Again". Neither of these songs made it onto the charts.

Gretchen Wilson then announced on July 28, 2009, that she was leaving Sony Music Nashville. She then started her own record label called Redneck Records. "Work Hard, Play Harder" was the first song released from her new label. Her fourth studio album, I Got Your Country Right Here, finally came out on March 30, 2010. Her old label, Columbia Nashville, released her first Greatest Hits album on January 19, 2010.

In 2008, the band The Black Crowes filed a lawsuit against Wilson. They said her song "Work Hard, Play Harder" copied their song "Jealous Again". The lawsuit was settled outside of court. The Black Crowes members Chris and Rich Robinson were given songwriting credits for the song.

More Albums

Gretchen Wilson released an album of new songs called Right on Time on April 2, 2013. The first song from it was "Still Rollin'". She also released an album of rock cover songs called Under the Covers on June 4, 2013. Wilson's first Christmas album, Christmas in My Heart, came out on October 8, 2013.

Beyond Country Music

Rock Music Performances

Even though she is mainly a country singer, Gretchen Wilson is also known for singing classic rock songs. She especially loves songs by the band Heart. She says Heart is "one of the biggest influences on my musical career".

She has performed several times with Heart's lead singer Ann Wilson and guitarist Nancy Wilson. She has sung songs like "Straight On", "Crazy on You", and "Barracuda". She performed "Barracuda" with Alice in Chains and Nancy Wilson at the 2007 VH1 Rock Honors event. She also sang "Who Are You" by The Who on a tribute album. She also sang on Buckcherry's song "The Feeling Never Dies" in 2016.

She has also performed "Even It Up", "Rock and Roll" and "Barracuda" with Heart, Jerry Cantrell, Dave Navarro, Duff McKagan, Rufus Wainwright and Carrie Underwood at the Decades Rock Live! show.

Making a Difference

Politics

Gretchen Wilson sang the National Anthem at the Republican National Convention on September 3, 2008. She said this was a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience. Wilson and her band also performed at a rally for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was on October 22, 2008, for about 12,000 supporters. Sarah Palin even said she couldn't wait to get Wilson's autograph. Wilson played a version of the Heart song "Barracuda" for Palin.

In September 2024, she appeared at a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in Wisconsin. She sang "Redneck Woman" and spoke to the crowd. She said that the American dream she found would be lost if people did not vote for freedom in November. She encouraged people to vote for President Trump and JD Vance.

Charities and Public Service

Gretchen Wilson has been very active in helping children's charities. She also supports adult education and the fight against obesity. Here are some of the things she has done:

• She has raised over $1.5 million through benefit concerts for children's charities. These include St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
• She served as a national spokesperson for Country Bands Together. This was a campaign to educate people about obesity.
• She supports adult education. She even spoke to Congress about how important it is to help adults who want to learn. Gretchen Wilson left high school in 9th grade. But she earned her GED (a high school equivalency diploma) in 2008 through an adult education college.

Sports

In 2004, Gretchen Wilson sang the national anthem before Game 4 of the 2004 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. She is a big fan of the Cardinals. The Red Sox won that game and the series.

In April 2010, Wilson released a special version of "Work Hard, Play Harder". She changed the lyrics to honor the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators team and their fans.

She also sponsors a women's softball team in Pierron, Illinois.

Awards and Recognition

• 2005 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year
• 2004 ACM Top Female Vocalist
• 2004 ACM Top New Artist
• 2004 CMA Horizon Award

Grammy Awards History

Discography

Studio albums

• Here for the Party (2004)
• All Jacked Up (2005)
• One of the Boys (2007)
• I Got Your Country Right Here (2010)
• Right on Time (2013)
• Under the Covers (2013)
• Ready to Get Rowdy (2017)

See also

In Spanish: Gretchen Wilson para niños